Maria Corina Machado, the head of the Vente Venezuela (VV) party and one of the leading opposition figures in the country, was beaten by a crowd today in Upata, Bolivar state while she was touring the town.
Due to the remoteness of the town, cellular and internet service are particularly spotty. News of the attack began to filter onto Twitter at approximately 6:51 PM EST time, but a press release written by V
The images below show Machado (in the white blouse) in Upata before the attack:
The video below shows a crowd of people surrounding Machado and her entourage. Some of the people in the crowd are hitting the opposition leader:
The image below shows Machado following the attack. Her shirt is stained with blood and other fluids:
In the image below, Maria Corina stands in a crowd. Her shirt is stained with blood. The tweet claims that at the time that the image was taken, she was receiving medical attention:
In a press release, VV blamed the attack on “a violent group” sent by the Maduro regime to attack Machado and her supporters. Below, the statement along with my translation:
Vente Venezuela on the attack against Maria Corina Machado in Upata
During a walk in Upata, in the Piar municipality of Bolivar state, a violent group sent by the regime attacked Maria Corina Machado and members of Vente Venezuela who were there [with her].
With stones, sticks, tubes and other blunt objects, they attacked Machado in the city’s Bolivar Plaza.
This event was carried out by violent groups [sent by] the mayor of the municipality, Yulisbeth Garcia, a.k.a. “La Tata”, which is proof that we are facing off against a criminal mafia state that is willing to do anything, even make an attempt on the life of someone who dissents and stands up to it, with the only goal of remaining in power.
In Vente Venezuela
The violent [attackers] are a minority and they are mistaken if they think that with threats, aggression and persecution they will stop us from reaching every corner of Venezuela to bring the message of the Collapse [of the regime], which is imminent and closer now more than ever.
Today more than ever we are convinced that we are in the right, [that we have] the strength and the people to conquer liberty definitively and leave behind what “La Tata”, her violent groups and socialism represents.
After what happened in Upata, Bolivar will turn into an emblem of the struggle, [and] the vanguard to mobilize and awaken all of Venezuela.
EU Renews Regime Sanctions for One Year
The European Union (EU) announced today that it is renewing sanctions against top ranking Maduro officials for another year.
The decision–which was made during a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers–means that 18 regime officials will continue to be banned from traveling to their EU, and that any assets that they have in the bloc will remain out of their reach.
The sanctioned individuals are all suspected of being actively involved in the violation of human rights in Venezuela. Among the sanctioned individuals are former vice president Tareck El Aissami, current vice president Delcy Rodriguez, as well as Minister of the Interior Nestor Reverol and Attorney General Tarek William Saab.
Lara State Police Repress Protest
Lara State Police (LSP) officers shut down a protest in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Barquisimeto, the capital’s state, earlier today.
Earlier in the day, residents in the area had taken to their streets to protest the lack of gas, which they need for cooking in their homes.
The LSP tweeted about the clash between the two sides shortly before noon, seemingly in an attempt to use the repression as a case study in their tactics.
In a pair of tweets, the LSP said:
#Polilara would like to inform the community of Lara state, the free flow of traffic has been Restored [sic] on the Florencia Jimenez Avenue #Barquisimeto towards #Quibor in the “Los Angeles” neighbourhood, after dialogue, mediation and the resolution of conflicts [sic] (1)
(2) using soft physical control tactics to disperse the mob that was protesting using passive resistance and blocking the free flow of traffic
The two tweets–sent at 11:36 AM–suggest that the LSP and the protesters reached an amicable resolution to the standoff, and that the demonstrators were simply convinced through “soft physical control tactics” to end their protest.
However, a video recorded at the scene just 30 minutes earlier shows LSP officers firing rubber pellet shotguns and moving towards the protesters, calling into question the official version of the event:
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